Thin-skin side stay beams and landing gear assemblies

ABSTRACT

A thin-skin side-stay beam may include an upper arm with thin skin and a mating flange extending longitudinally from the thin skin. A lower arm may also have a thin skin and a mating flange extending longitudinally from the lower arm. A joint may include a pin and/or a bushing extending through the mating flanges to pivotally couple the upper arm to the lower arm. The upper arm and/or the lower arm may include one or more internal walls defining one or more internal cavities.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of, claims priority to and the benefitof, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/222,772, filed on Jul. 28, 2016,and entitled “THIN-SKIN SIDE STAY BEAMS AND LANDING GEAR ASSEMBLIES,”which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to aircraft landing gear, with variousembodiments relating to thin-skinned landing gear structures.

BACKGROUND

Aircraft designers have continuously tried to increase the fuelefficiency of aircraft over the last century. The fuel efficiency of anaircraft may be related to the aircraft's mass and aerodynamic drag. Inaddition, noise regulations for aircraft at low altitudes encouragereduction of the aircraft's noise signature while it is near the ground.Landing gear can be heavy and aerodynamically resistant. Additionally,deployed landing gear may increase the noise signature of an aircraft asa result of air rushing past the deployed gear.

SUMMARY

A thin-skin side-stay beam is provided. The side-stay beam may includean upper arm with thin skin and a mating flange extending longitudinallyfrom the thin skin. A lower arm may also have a thin skin and a matingflange extending longitudinally from the lower arm. A joint may includea pin and/or a bushing extending through the mating flanges to pivotallycouple the upper arm to the lower arm.

In various embodiments, the upper arm may have an internal wallextending longitudinally within the thin skin. The internal wall and thethin skin may define an internal cavity having a triangular geometry.The first internal wall may be substantially flat. The triangulargeometry may also be convex along the thin skin. A curved surface mayblend the first internal wall into the thin skin. The upper arm may alsohave a second internal wall extending longitudinally within the thinskin. The first internal wall, the second internal wall, and the thinskin may define a second internal cavity having a rectangular geometry.The second internal wall and the thin skin may define a third internalcavity with a triangular geometry. The thin skin may vary in thicknessfrom about 0.07 inches to about 0.125 inches. The upper arm and thelower arm may be made using wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM)and/or electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM).

An arm of a thin-skin side-stay beam is also provided. The arm mayinclude a thin skin elongated in a longitudinal direction. A firstmating flange may extend from a first longitudinal end of the thin skin.A second mating flange may also extend from a second longitudinal end ofthe thin skin. A first internal wall may extend longitudinally withinthe thin skin. The thin skin and the first internal wall may define afirst triangular cavity. A second internal wall may extendlongitudinally within the thin skin. The thin skin, the first internalwall, and the second internal wall may define a rectangular cavity. Thethin skin and the second internal wall may further define a secondtriangular cavity.

In various embodiments, the thin skin may have a thickness ranging fromabout 0.07 inches to about 0.125 inches. The first inner wall may have athickness ranging from about 0.025 inches to about 0.25 inches. Thefirst inner wall may also be blended into the thin skin by a curvedsurface. The curved surface may have a radius of curvature ranging fromabout 0.5 inches to about 0.8 inches. The first inner wall may bealigned longitudinally with the first mating flange and the secondmating flange. The arm may be tapered with the height at the firstlongitudinal end greater than the height at the second longitudinal end.

A method of making an arm for a thin-skin side stay is also provided.The method may include the steps of selecting a metal, and forming athin skin of the arm from the metal using additive manufacturing. Thearm may include an internal wall, and the arm may define a plurality ofinternal cavities.

In various embodiments, forming the thin-skin of the arm may includedepositing a first layer of the metal, removing an excess material fromthe first layer of the metal, and depositing a second layer of the metalover the first layer of the metal. The method may also includedepositing a first layer of the metal, depositing a second layer of themetal over the first layer of the metal, and removing an excess materialfrom the first layer of the metal and the second layer of the metal. Theinternal wall and arm may define a cavity from the plurality of cavitieshaving a triangular geometry.

The forgoing features and elements may be combined in variouscombinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated hereinotherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation of thedisclosed embodiments will become more apparent in light of thefollowing description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter of the present disclosure is particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. Amore complete understanding of the present disclosures, however, maybest be obtained by referring to the detailed description and claimswhen considered in connection with the drawing figures, wherein likenumerals denote like elements.

FIG. 1A illustrates a front view of a thin skin landing gear assembly,in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 1B illustrates a side view of a thin skin landing gear assembly, inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a side-stay assembly having athin-skin architecture, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a side-stay assemblyhaving a thin-skin architecture and longitudinally oriented internalwalls, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 3A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a lower arm havinginternal cavities and longitudinally oriented internal walls, inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 3B illustrates a cross sectional view of a central cavity of alower arm partially defined by internal walls, in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 3C illustrates a cross-sectional view of the internal cavities of alower arm, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a upper arm havinginternal cavities and longitudinally oriented internal walls, inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4B illustrates a cross sectional view of a central cavity of anupper arm partially defined by internal walls, in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 4C illustrates a cross-sectional view of the internal cavities ofan upper arm, in accordance with various embodiments; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a method of making a thin-skin side-stay beam usingadditive manufacturing techniques such as wire arc additivemanufacturing (WAAM) and/or electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM),in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes referenceto the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments by way ofillustration and their best mode. While these exemplary embodiments aredescribed in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art topractice the disclosures, it should be understood that other embodimentsmay be realized and that logical, chemical, and mechanical changes maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosures.Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes ofillustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps recitedin any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in anyorder and are not necessarily limited to the order presented.Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, andany reference to more than one component or step may include a singularembodiment or step. Also, any reference to attached, fixed, connected orthe like may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, fulland/or any other possible attachment option. Additionally, any referenceto without contact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contactor minimal contact.

The present disclosure relates to landing gear assemblies havingaerodynamic thin-skin side-stay beams. Landing gear assemblies may havereduced weight and improved stress distribution by using ahollow-bodied, thin-skin support members and/or side-stays to supportthe aircraft. This thin-skin design uses thin-skin construction, similarto wing design, to distribute load forces along a greater surface areaand thereby enable a reduced cross-section area construction, whichreduces the overall mass of the landing gear. Various embodiments of thedisclosure provide a smooth, aerodynamic structure, which tends toreduce drag and noise production due to aerodynamic buffeting.

Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an exemplary landing gear assembly 100is shown having a thin-skin side-stay beam 102 and thin-skin supportmember 104, in accordance with various embodiments. Thin-skin side-staybeam 102 may be pivotally coupled to linkage 106, which is furtherpivotally coupled to thin-skin support member 104. Thin-skin side-staybeam 102 may also comprise lower arm 110 that is pivotally coupled tomounting point 114 of thin-skin support member 104 by joint 116. Lowerarm 110 may also be pivotally coupled to upper arm 112 of thin-skinside-stay beam 102 by joint 118. In that regard, thin-skin side-staybeam 102 may comprise an upper arm 112 coupled to a lower arm 110 withupper arm 112 being longer than upper arm 112. Upper arm 112 may furtherbe pivotally coupled to an interface structure at joint 120.

In various embodiments, an axle 108 may be coupled to thin-skin supportmember 104 in a perpendicular manner and may be configured to support arotating wheel assembly. Thin-skin side-stay beam 102 may providesupport for thin-skin support member 104 and thereby limit motion ofthin-skin support member 104 relative to an aircraft in response tolanding gear assembly 100 being fully deployed. Thin-skin side-stay beam102 may also provide a pulling force on thin-skin support member 104 atjoint 116 and mounting point 114 to stow landing gear assembly 100.

With reference to FIG. 2A, a perspective view of thin-skin side-staybeam 102 is shown, in accordance with various embodiments. Lugs 200 mayextend longitudinally (with length defined in the x direction, widthdefined in the y direction, and height defined in the z direction) fromlower arm 110. Joint 116 may include a bushing or pin passed through anopening defined in lugs 200 that have a substantially parallelorientation to one another. Mating flanges 202 may extend longitudinallyfrom lower arm 110 from the side opposite lugs 200. Joint 118 mayinclude a pin or bushing passed through openings defined in matingflanges 202 of lower arm 110 as well as through openings defined inmating flanges 204 extending longitudinally from upper arm 112. Lugs 208may extend longitudinally from upper arm 112 towards joint 120 forpivotal coupling using a pin and/or bushing. Mating tabs 206 may extendfrom mating flange 204 and/or upper arm 112 to define openings forcoupling to linkage 106 of FIG. 1 .

Referring now to FIGS. 2B, 3A, and 4A, cross-sectional views ofthin-skin side-stay beam 102 are shown, in accordance with variousembodiments. Both upper arm 112 and lower arm 110 of thin-skin side-staybeam 102 may include hollow internal passages at least partially definedby internal support walls.

In various embodiments, lower arm 110 has a thin skin 226 defining itsouter surface and partially defining internal cavity 220, internalcavity 224, and internal cavity 230. The outer surface of lower arm andthin skin 226 may be smooth. The outer surface may comprise atightly-curved leading edge and a less curved side surface for anaerodynamic geometry when the arm is deployed and exposed to wind. Thinskin 226 may vary in thickness from about 60 mils (1.5 mm) to about 400mils (10.2 mm), from about 70 mils (1.8 mm) to about 125 mils (3.2 mm),or from about 50 mils (1.3 mm) to 500 mils (12.7 mm), or from about 40mils (1.0 mm) to 600 mils (15.2 mm). As used herein, a mil refers to athousandth of an inch. Thin skin 226 of lower arm 110 is thus typicallyless than about 400 mils (10.2 mm) thick, with greater thicknesses usedto support greater airframe loads. Lower wall thicknesses for thin skin226 tend to minimize the weight of thin-skin side-stay beam 102. Thethickness circumferentially around lower arm 110 may be substantiallyuniform at a given longitudinal location along the x axis. Thin skin 226may also be thicker at the longitudinal ends of lower arm 110 (near lugs200 and mating flanges 202) and thinner at the longitudinal midpoint oflower arm 110.

In various embodiments, lower arm 110 may include internal wall 222 andinternal wall 228. Internal wall 222 and internal wall 228 may havereflective symmetry. The internal walls may also be non-parallel, withthe ends of internal wall 222 and internal wall 228 aligning with lugs200 and mating flanges 202, both of FIG. 2A. Internal cavity 220 maythus be defined by thin skin 226 and internal wall 222. Internal cavity230 may be defined by thin skin 226 and internal wall 228. Internalcavity 224 may be defined by thin skin 226, internal wall 222, andinternal wall 228. Internal walls may vary in thickness similar to theabove described thicknesses of thin skin 226. Additionally, internalwalls may have a thickness greater than thin skin 226 in some locations.For example, internal wall 222 and internal wall 228 may have athickness ranging from about 125 mils (3.2 mm) to 250 mils (6.4 mm).

In various embodiments, upper arm 112 has a thin skin 232 defining itsouter surface and partially defining internal cavity 234, internalcavity 238, and internal cavity 242. Thin skin 232 may vary in thicknessfrom about 70 mils (1.8 mm) to about 125 mils (3.2 mm), or from about 60mils (1.5 mm) to about 400 mils (10.2 mm), from about 50 mils (1.3 mm)to 500 mils (12.7 mm), or from about 40 mils (1.0 mm) to 600 mils (15.2mm). Thin skin 232 of upper arm 112 is thus typically less than about400 mil (10.2 mm) thick, with greater thicknesses used to supportgreater airframe loads. Lower wall thicknesses for thin skin 232 tend tominimize the weight of thin-skin side-stay beam 102. The thicknessaround upper arm 112 may be substantially uniform at a givenlongitudinal location along the x axis. Thin skin 232 may be thicker atthe longitudinal ends of upper arm 112 (near lugs 208 and mating flanges204) and thinner at the longitudinal midpoint of upper arm 112.

In various embodiments, upper arm 112 may include internal wall 236 andinternal wall 240. Internal wall 236 and internal wall 240 may havereflective symmetry. The internal walls may also be non-parallel, withthe ends of internal wall 236 and internal wall 240 aligning with lugs208 and mating flanges 204, both of FIG. 2A. Internal cavity 234 maythus be defined by thin skin 232 and internal wall 236. Internal cavity242 may be defined by thin skin 232 and internal wall 240. Internalcavity 238 may be defined by thin skin 232, internal wall 236, andinternal wall 240. Internal walls may vary in thickness similar to theabove described thicknesses of thin skin 232. Additionally, internalwalls may have a thickness greater than thin skin 232 in some locations.For example, internal wall 236 and internal wall 240 may have athickness ranging from about 125 mils (3.2 mm) to 250 mils (6.4 mm).

Referring now to FIG. 3A, the thickness of internal wall 222 andinternal wall 228 may vary along the length (i.e., in the x direction)of lower arm 110 and the radius of curvature of the surface joininginternal wall 222 with thin skin 226, or internal wall 228 with thinskin 226, may vary as well. Curved surface 300 may extend along thelength of internal wall 228 and may blend a surface of internal wall 228into the internal surface of thin skin 226. Curved surface 302 may alsorun along the length of internal wall 228 and may blend a surface ofinternal wall 228 into the internal surface of thin skin 226. The curveof the curved surface may include a radial, multi-radial, orientedperpendicular to the length of internal wall 228 (i.e., in the y-z planeof FIG. 2A). The radius of curvature may vary at different longitudinalpoints along the length of lower arm 110.

In various embodiments, curved surface 308 may be symmetric to curvedsurface 302. Similarly, curved surface 300 may be symmetric to curvedsurface 310. Curved surface 302 and curved surface 308 may have a radiusof curvature ranging from 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) to 0.8 inches (20.3 mm).In various embodiments, the radius of curvature of curved surface 308and curved surface 302 may be may be shorter near the longitudinalcenter of lower arm 110 than the radius of curvature near thelongitudinal ends of lower arm 110. Curved surface 300 and curvedsurface 310 may have a substantially uniform curvature of approximately0.5 inches (12.7 mm), or ranging from 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) to 0.8 inches(20.3 mm).

With reference to FIG. 3B, a cross sectional view of lower arm 110 takenalong the x-z plane is shown, in accordance with various embodiments.Lower arm 110 may have a height D₁ (in the z direction) proximate joint118 and mating flange 202. Lower arm 110 may also have a height D₂ (inthe z direction) proximate joint 116 and lug 200. Lower arm 110 andinternal cavity 224 may have a tapered height in the longitudinaldirection, with D₁ greater than D₂. In that regard, thin skin 226 maydefine two non-parallel longitudinal walls when viewed in cross sectionas shown in FIG. 2B. Curved surface 308 may define a perimeter ofinternal wall 222.

With reference to FIG. 3C, a cross-sectional view of lower arm 110 takenalong the y-z plane is shown, in accordance with various embodiments.Internal cavity 230 may have a triangular cross sectional geometry withcurved vertices. Similarly, internal cavity 220 may have a triangularcross sectional geometry with curved vertices. The sides of thetriangular geometries may be slightly convex along thin skin 226 toimprove load distribution. Internal wall 228 and internal wall 222 maybe substantially flat. Internal cavity 224 may have a substantiallyrectangular geometry with the sides along thin skin 226 having aslightly convex geometry to improve load distribution. The outer surfaceof thin skin 226 may have an elongated, oval-like geometry as viewed inFIG. 3C.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, the thickness of internal wall 236 andinternal wall 240 may vary along the length (i.e., in the x direction)of upper arm 112 and the radius of curvature of the surface joininginternal wall 236 with thin skin 232, or internal wall 240 with thinskin 232, may vary as well. Curved surface 400 may extend along thelength of internal wall 240 and may blend a surface of internal wall 240into the internal surface of thin skin 232. Curved surface 406 may alsorun along the length of internal wall 240 and may blend a surface ofinternal wall 240 into the internal surface of thin skin 232. The curveof the curved surface may include a radial or multi-radial curve,oriented perpendicular to the length of internal wall 240 (i.e., in they-z plane of FIG. 2A). The radius of curvature may vary at differentlongitudinal points along the length of upper arm 112.

In various embodiments, curved surface 404 may be symmetric to curvedsurface 406. Similarly, curved surface 400 may be symmetric to curvedsurface 402. Curved surface 406 and curved surface 404 may have a radiusof curvature ranging from 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) to 0.8 inches (20.3 mm).In various embodiments, the radius of curvature of curved surface 404and curved surface 406 may be may be shorter near the longitudinalcenter of upper arm 112 than the radius of curvature near thelongitudinal ends of upper arm 112. Curved surface 400 and curvedsurface 402 may have a substantially uniform curvature of approximately0.5 inches (12.7 mm), or ranging from 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) to 0.8 inches(20.3 mm).

With reference to FIG. 4B, a cross sectional view of upper arm 112 takenalong the x-z plane is shown, in accordance with various embodiments.Upper arm 112 may have a height D3 (in the z direction) proximate joint120 and lug 208. Upper arm 112 may also have a height D4 (in the zdirection) proximate joint 118 and mating flange 204. Mating flange 204may include an arm 430 configured to contact lower arm 110 in responseto pivotal motion and restrict the range of pivotal motion at joint 118.Upper arm 112 and internal cavity 238 may have a tapered height in thelongitudinal direction, with D3 greater than D4. In that regard, thinskin 232 may define two non-parallel longitudinal walls when viewed incross section as shown in FIG. 2B. Curved surface 404 may define aperimeter of internal wall 236.

With reference to FIG. 4C, a cross-sectional view of upper arm 112 takenalong the y-z plane is shown, in accordance with various embodiments.Internal cavity 242 may have a triangular geometry with curved vertices.Similarly, internal cavity 234 may have a triangular geometry withcurved vertices. The sides of the triangular geometries may be slightlyconvex along thin skin 232 to improve load distribution. Internal wall240 and internal wall 236 may be substantially flat. Internal cavity 238may have a substantially rectangular geometry with the sides along thinskin 232 having a slightly convex geometry to improve load distribution.The outer surface of thin skin 232 may have an elongated, oval-likegeometry as viewed in FIG. 4C.

With reference to FIG. 5 , an exemplary process 500 for making thin skinlanding gear components is shown, in accordance with variousembodiments. Any of the various embodiments described herein may be madeusing additive manufacturing techniques such as direct metal lasersintering, selective laser sintering, selective laser melting,electron-beam melting, electron-beam freeform fabrication, electron beamadditive manufacturing (EBAM), or wire arc additive manufacturing(WAAM). WAAM and/or EBAM manufacturing may be used to provideadvantageous metallurgic properties in the thin-skin side-stay beamsdisclosed herein. For example, tensile tests performed on rolled WAAMwalls found that the properties of rolled WAAM walls were improved overstandard rolled walls and became isotropic. The isotropic material maybe worked using cold working process to refine the microstructure andimprove the related mechanical properties, thereby making the materialanisotropic. The thin-skinned side-stay beams described herein may bemade using a grade 5 titanium WAAM deposit such as, for example,Ti-6Al-4V. Grade 5 titanium may include 90% titanium, 6% aluminum, up to0.25% iron, up to 0.2% oxygen, and 4% vanadium. Other titanium alloysmay also be used to make thin-skinned side-stay beams using WAAMtechniques.

The experimentally evaluated vertical and horizontal tensile propertiesof WAAM deposited 2319 aluminum alloy and wrought 2219 aluminum alloyare presented in table T1 below. The vertical (V) direction refers tosamples taken across the build layers whilst the horizontal (H)direction refers to those taken along the layers. Yield strength (YS),ultimate tensile strength (UST), and elongation of the WAAM alloy areevenly distributed in the whole as-deposited wall. Average YS and UTSare 110 MPa (16.0 ksi) and 260 MPa (37.7 ksi), respectively. Althoughthe strength values are lower than those of the T851-tempered alloy,they are 50% higher than those of the O-tempered alloy. Meanwhile, the17% plastic elongation is higher than the T-tempered alloy, which mayexpand industrial application. In addition to the above mentionedimproved metallurgic characteristics, the deposit width in WAAMmanufacturing may be 3.5 mm (0.14 in) or lower, reducing the presence ofexcess material. In various embodiments, a WAAM deposited aluminum alloysuch as the aluminum alloy described in table T1 may be used to makethin-skin side-stay beams of the present disclosure. The termapproximately is used herein to describe a variance of +\−10% of themeasured values in the tables below.

TABLE T1 Tensile properties of WAAM deposited 2319 alloy and wrought2219 alloy WAAM Alloy Wrought Alloy V1 V2 V3 H1 H2 H3 2219-O 2219-T851Yield Strength (Mpa) 105 106 107 112 110 121 76 350 Yield Strength (ksi)15.2 15.4 15.5 16.2 16 17.6 11 50.8 UTS (Mpa) 257 261 256 262 263 263172 455 UTS(ksi) 37.3 37.9 37.1 38 38.1 38.1 25 66 Elongation (%) 15.416.8 14.4 18.3 19 17.8 18 10

In various embodiments, WAAM may be used to generate thin-skin side-staybeams with the above advantageous material properties including improvedplastic elongation, UTS, and yield strength over the O-temperedcounterpart. The improved material properties may enable thin-skinside-stay beams to meet standards for operation with reduced weight, asless material may be used in response to improved material properties.WAAM may also enable high build rates of approximately 20 pounds (9.1kg) per hour.

Thus, in various embodiments, a thin-skin side-stay beam 102 may beformed by selecting a suitable metal (Step 502). The metal may be analuminum alloy, a titanium alloy, steel, or another suitable metal. Themetal may also be suitable for e-beam additive manufacturing or WAAMtechniques. The thin-skin side-stay beams may then be formed from themetal (Step 504). The thin-skin side-stay beams may include a lower arm110 and/or an upper arm 112 as described above. An internal wall of thearm may also be formed using additive manufacturing (Step 506).

Components made using WAAM may include a grain structure grown in thedirection of material being added. The surfaces of the landing gearcomponents made with additive manufacturing may be smooth. Smoothsurfaces and joints may refer to non-welded shapes. The landing gearcomponents may also have continuous steps, flanges, and other structuresthat may be rough when welded. Furthermore, the landing gear componentsmay have internal structural details that cannot be machined into thecomponents due to lack of access.

Surfaces made using WAAM, EBAM, or similar weld-like techniques maydeposit material in a series of cylindrical layers formed one on top ofanother. A wall formed by the techniques may thus have varying widthcorresponding to the cylindrical profile of each layer. The strength ofthe wall, however, may be limited by the thin portions of the wall.Thus, the excess material may be removed from each layer during thedeposition process. In that regard, forming a thin skin landing gear ofthe present disclosure using WAAM and/or EBAM manufacturing may alsoinclude depositing a layer of material, removing excess material fromthe layer to give the layer a substantially uniform width, depositinganother layer of the layer of uniform width, and removing excessmaterial from the second layer to give the second layer a substantiallyuniform width. This process would be continued throughout the build ofthe entire part. In various embodiments of the build process, severallayers of material could be deposited, followed by a clean-up processwhich would remove excess material from the entire wall surface,creating a wall with a substantially uniform width.

Thin-skin side-stay beams of the present disclosure may tend to reduceweight and increase stiffness, as the curved surfaces and elongatedgeometry of thin-skinned members use less material to achieve acceptablesupport levels. The thin-skin side-stay beam may also tend to reduceturbulence of air passing by the deployed landing gear with its smoothsurfaces and rounded contours. In that regard, thin-skin side-stay beamsof the present disclosure may thus tend to minimize noise generated byair rushing past deployed landing gear assemblies. Additionally, themicro structure of the thin-skin side-stay beams may be improved usingadditive manufacturing techniques.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. Furthermore, theconnecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein areintended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physicalcouplings between the various elements. It should be noted that manyalternative or additional functional relationships or physicalconnections may be present in a practical system. However, the benefits,advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause anybenefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced arenot to be construed as critical, required, or essential features orelements of the disclosures.

The scope of the disclosures is accordingly to be limited by nothingother than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly sostated, but rather “one or more.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to“at least one of A, B, or C” is used in the claims, it is intended thatthe phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in anembodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may bepresent in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, Band C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A andC, B and C, or A and B and C. Different cross-hatching is usedthroughout the figures to denote different parts but not necessarily todenote the same or different materials.

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided herein. In the detaileddescription herein, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “anexample embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described mayinclude a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but everyembodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed. After reading the description, it will be apparent to oneskilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure inalternative embodiment

Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the presentdisclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless ofwhether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited inthe claims. No claim element is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f)unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” Asused herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variationthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elementsdoes not include only those elements but may include other elements notexpressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, orapparatus.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making an arm for a thin-skin sidestay beam, comprising: selecting a metal; forming a thin skin of the armfrom the metal using additive manufacturing, wherein the thin skin iselongated in a longitudinal direction with a first mating flangeextending from a first longitudinal end of the thin skin, a secondmating flange extending from the first longitudinal end of the thinskin, a first lug extending from a second longitudinal end of the thinskin, and a second lug extending from the second longitudinal end of thethin skin, wherein the first mating flange and the second mating flangeare each configured with an opening for receiving at least one of afirst pin or a first bushing and wherein the first lug and the secondlug are each configured with an opening for receiving at least one of asecond pin or a second bushing; forming a first internal wall of the armusing additive manufacturing, wherein the first internal wall extendslongitudinally within the thin skin, wherein the thin skin and the firstinternal wall define a first triangular cavity; and forming a secondinternal wall of the arm using additive manufacturing, wherein thesecond internal wall extends longitudinally within the thin skin,wherein the thin skin, the first internal wall, and the second internalwall define a rectangular cavity, wherein the thin skin and the secondinternal wall define a second triangular cavity.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the forming the thin skin of the arm comprises: depositing afirst layer of the metal; removing an excess material from the firstlayer of the metal; and depositing a second layer of the metal over thefirst layer of the metal.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the formingthe thin skin of the arm comprises: depositing a first layer of themetal; depositing a second layer of the metal over the first layer ofthe metal; and removing an excess material from the first layer of themetal and the second layer of the metal.